---
title: "Ford Escort ZX2 S/R history and production numbers"
description: "How Ford Racing and the Small Vehicle Center built about 2,110 Escort ZX2 S/Rs across the 1999 and 2000 model years."
url: https://zx2ms.com/wiki/sr/history
reviewed: 2026-10-30
---

# Two model years, one small run

> The S/R was the first time Ford Racing and the Small Vehicle Center worked together on a hot Escort. It was offered for 1999 and 2000 only.

## Timeline

- **1997: The ZX2 coupe arrives.** Ford launches the Escort ZX2 for the 1998 model year with a 2.0-liter Zetec DOHC four rated at 130 hp and 127 lb-ft.
- **1998: The ZX2 Fusion concept.** At SEMA in Las Vegas in November, Ford shows the ZX2 Fusion, a yellow-on-black show car built with Roush Racing from a '99 ZX2. It had an Eaton-supercharged Zetec making 230 hp and 200 lb-ft, Bilstein struts, Energy Suspension bushings, a B&M shifter and Goodyear Eagle F1 tires. It looks like the S/R's forerunner, though Ford never said so. [Ford release]
- **1999: S/R debut.** Ford Racing Technology and the Small Vehicle Center unveil the S/R at SEMA's second International Auto Salon at the Pomona Fairplex, March 26–28, 1999. It's the first product developed jointly by Ford Racing Technology and the Small Vehicle Center, with eight aftermarket partners. The team went from approval to the assembly line in about 7 months. Ford prices the package at $1,495 and plans an initial run of 100, built on the regular ZX2 line in Hermosillo, Mexico, from aftermarket parts kits. The first cars are all Zinc Yellow, all five-speed manual, and meant for Southern California only, with capacity for "a few thousand" more if demand is there. A 1999 NHTSA recall for the S/R covers 106 cars; most owner sources say 110, with 108 going to Southern California dealers and 2 to Columbus, Ohio. [Counts range from 100 to 110]
- **2000: Production ramps up.** About 2,000 cars are built, reportedly 1,000 yellow, 500 red and 500 black. Around 35 are believed to have been sold in Canada. Cars get an Iceman intake in place of the 1999 Roush tube, different wheels, a blue valve cover in place of the black one, and S/R seats. In Canada, Ford's French brochure lists the package as a "high-performance group", with Zinc Yellow paint available only with it. In September 1999 Motor Trend runs 0–60 in 7.6 seconds, against 7.8 for a stock ZX2. [Color split from one source]
- **2001: Package dropped.** The S/R is gone. Most sources say this is also the year the coupe loses the Escort name to become simply the Ford ZX2. [Some say 2000]
- **2003: End of the ZX2.** The ZX2 gets a facelift for its final model year, then production ends.

## Production

- 1999: 110 yellow
- 2000: 1,000 yellow, 500 red, 500 black

Bars share one scale of 2,110 cars. 1999: 110 yellow (an NHTSA recall counts 106). 2000: 1,000 yellow, 500 red, 500 black.

No. The S/R came from Ford Racing and the Small Vehicle Center, not Ford's Special Vehicle Team. Owners on enthusiast forums say SVT was busy with the Focus at the time. [Forum report] The S/R team was a small crew of enthusiasts at the Small Vehicle Center in Dearborn led by Terry Crossett, Ford's manager of small car powertrain development. He told AutoWeek it started as an effort to get more aftermarket parts made for the ZX2.

---
Source: https://zx2ms.com/wiki/sr/history (ZX2 Motorsports wiki). Questions or corrections: admin@zx2ms.com.